Automated packaging systems for food products that use paper cartons can be highly automated machines to automatically package food or other liquid products. In the case of paper cartons, the packaging system can automatically assemble the carton container from a paper blank and seal the bottom of the blank to ready it to receive the product. Then the packaging system automatically fills the container with product and seals the top of the container. When the container emerges from the packaging system it is filled, sealed, and ready for delivery.
A particular concern for packaging systems is the need to minimize potential sources of contamination. These sources of contamination can come from external sources such as dripping fluid from overhead condensate, dust from the environment, accidental spray, and dust from the packaging materials. In the case of cartons made from plastic (polymer) coated paper for example, contamination by dust from the packaging is a particular concern since the plastic coated paper blanks (hereinafter carton blanks) are typically cut with high speed cutting machinery. The cutting process generates significant levels of dust which remain on the carton blanks even when they are loaded in the machine. The management and control of these sources of contamination is important because contamination can reduce the shelf life of a packaged product.
Therefore, there is a need for a method, apparatus, and process to control contamination in packaging systems and more particularly to control contamination originating from carton blanks and carton magazines on packaging systems.